Rob West: College students may be pros at pulling off last-minute study sessions, but when it comes to finances, cramming just doesn't cut it. Hi, I'm Rob West. We often say that everyone needs a budget, and for college students, that might be even more crucial. Today, Dr. Kelly Rush joins us with practical budgeting advice every college student should hear. And then it's on to your calls and questions at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith & Finance on American Family Radio. Biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well, our guest today is my friend, Dr. Kelly Rush, a finance professor, division chair, and financial planning program coordinator at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio. She's also on the board of directors at Kingdom Advisors. She's well-versed in the intersection of faith and finances, and today she's here to help us tackle an important topic for students and their families—that is, how to build a solid college budget. Kelly, great to have you back with us.
Dr. Kelly Rush: Oh, I really like this topic. Rob, thanks for having me.
Rob West: Kelly, you work with students every day, so let me start with the big picture. Why is it so important for college students to learn how to manage their money at this stage?
Dr. Kelly Rush: I'm reminded of Proverbs 22, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." We apply that verse to a lot of areas in parenting, but it holds true in this area of finances and wanting our children to develop those good habits, especially during the college years so that they'll continue those down the road. And so whatever those habits are that they're developing during those critical college years is either going to start them on a path of financial success or cause later regrets down the road that they'll then have to overcome.
Rob West: Yeah, that's right. The financial foundation is important. Now, you interact with a lot of college students, Kelly. So, what do you experience? I mean, do they tend to have budgets, or is that more of an exception if they do?
Dr. Kelly Rush: Well, yes and no. A lot of college students have a mental budget—sometimes we call that mental accounting—but very few have an actual written budget. And they might have a general sense of what they should be spending, but even if they have that general sense, they still don't track their spending. And so they don't have a clear picture of where the finances are going, and they don't have a written budget to compare anything to. And so over time, what they find is that they're actually spending more than they realize, they're watching those bank accounts dwindle more quickly than they than they anticipate, and they genuinely don't have a sense of where the money is going. So, it's easy for a college student to think, "Well, I don't have normal expenses, my I have a lot of variability, and so I'll just have a budget later on," but we want to develop those habits early on so that they'll stay with the student and they'll continue those budgeting practices on into the future.
Rob West: Yeah, that's well said. Now, there's some critical lessons or ideas that they need to learn at this stage. One of those, I know, is the time value of money. Why is that such a key foundational concept for college students in particular?
Dr. Kelly Rush: Time value of money really is critical because the relationship between time and money is not random. There's a system to it; it's logical, it's reasonable. It really reminds me of the orderly God that we serve. There's an order to this time and money relationship. And so when college students learn how the time value of money variables work together, they realize that the most powerful variable in every time value of money calculation is always time. Without exception, the financial destination boils down to time and that need to use time wisely.
Rob West: Yeah. Now let's apply that key concept, then, Kelly—the time value of money—to budgeting.
Dr. Kelly Rush: Well, often in budgeting, the question comes up, "Well, how much do I save?" or, "When I save, how much am I going to earn on that on that investment?" And even the broader financial industry, a lot of attention is given to a savings rate, return on investments—those are definitely important variables. But because time is the most powerful variable, college students need to use the budgeting process early on to have the best impact down the road. You know, Scripture speaks of time often. The psalmist asked the Lord to "teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom." And Paul told the church in Ephesus to walk carefully, not as fools but as wise, because we're supposed to redeem the time. So without exception, the most important thing college students need to understand is that they have time on their side. And if they start early—saving early, giving early, stewarding wisely from the very start—all of those practices go into building a budget, and all of them have a positive impact with time.
Rob West: That is so good. When we come back from this break, we'll talk about credit, when is the right time to open a bank account, and much more. Kelly Rush here today. We're talking college students. Following this interview, your questions today at 800-525-7000. Stay with us, we'll be right back.
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Rob West: Thanks for joining us today on Faith & Finance here on American Family Radio. We're talking Budgets 101 for College Students. Perhaps you're a college student, or you have one in your life. Well, we've got a great guest today. My friend, Dr. Kelly Rush, is finance professor, division chair, and financial planning program coordinator at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio. And she's been sharing with us some of these key foundational concepts and ideas that are so important for college students. And Kelly, before the break, you were talking about the importance of the time value of money, and you made this really important distinction that really, time is on your side when you're a college student, and that's important. But when you say that, is that always true in terms of money?
Dr. Kelly Rush: Well, this is a great clarification to make, Rob, so thank you. Time is always on a saver's side. It's always on an investor's side because the longer runway for those good practices leads to a positive impact down the road. But time has the opposite impact for debtors. Long runways for someone who's trying to pay off debt means that more interest is paid, so time is not on a debtor's side. If college students can build good financial habits early on, if they can avoid that consumer debt, if they can steward well early, they will always have a compounded blessing over time.
Rob West: Hm, yeah. Let's shift to budgeting, Kelly. I know another concept you've talked about is this idea of momentum. You say that money has momentum in college. Unpack that for us.
Dr. Kelly Rush: Oh, absolutely. I tell students that money moves, and money has momentum. I mean, I think about my kids when they were little. They saved for a few big purchases. They saved for that first car, they saved for their portion of the college tuition. But they didn't understand the small purchases that Mom and Dad were making all of the time. And so when you get to college and those small purchases tend to fall on the shoulders of the college student, they just don't realize how many transactions happen in the course of normal day-to-day life—whether that's ordering pizza, or coffee run, or streaming services, or whatever those things are. The frequency of small purchases tends to gain momentum throughout college. The sheer number of expenses that results in the momentum of how money moves over time.
Rob West: Hm, yeah. That's really helpful and a powerful idea. Let's turn to practical tools. Kelly, do you have any favorite go-to resources for students who are just getting started with budgeting or are facing the momentum of money moving that you just described?
Dr. Kelly Rush: For sure. So for young children, a lot of parents will use the envelope system. They'll have a few budgeting categories, and that's a really great way to tangibly teach young kids about money, but that's probably not going to be the plan for a college student. I don't know if you've heard college students say this, but there is this mindset out there that cash doesn't count. And they'll just say that real casually, "Oh, cash doesn't count." As in, when money is moving, they think of the cash as already being spent because it never shows up in an online transaction. So because Gen Z operates in the world of apps and easy online access, we want to meet them where they are. And so we want to use those finance apps. I really like the FaithFi app. It's a great place to begin with budgeting, it's customizable to meet the student's needs, has different money management options. It's a great place to be a very practical resource for college students.
Rob West: Well, I couldn't agree more. You can go to faithfi.com to check it out. Let me stay in the practical category, Kelly. At what point do you think students should open their own bank accounts and start managing money independently, rather than relying on Mom and Dad?
Dr. Kelly Rush: Oh, that's a great question, Rob. And so, something that we say at our house all the time is that we're on the same team, right? Parents and students are on the same team. And so in order to be on the same team, we want to have a game plan. And parents need to communicate to their students the game plan of turning over the expenses to the college student—when will they pay for their own gas, when do they pay for their own clothes, their own cell phone, and so on. And so we need to communicate not just which expenses are going to move to the college students, but when do they move. And so having a plan for that really puts people on the same team, on the same page, and then they can map out how much to budget for, when to budget for, and when those expenses move to the student's responsibility. That is probably the time when they're going to want to open up their own bank account, have their own responsibility for those specific expenses that Mom and Dad said, "Okay, now these are yours."
Rob West: Yeah, and I think one of the keys there, and you said this, is clear communication. Kelly, naturally, one of the other conversations that needs to be had is around credit. Should college students start building credit now, or do they wait until after graduation?
Dr. Kelly Rush: You know, I think either's going to be fine in the long run, but there really is some value in starting the process of building credit during college. That longer runway of building credit can have a benefit down the road for that first apartment, or when they're shopping for insurance, and things like that. So what I suggest is starting with a secured credit card where a one-time refundable deposit is put down and that acts as collateral to the credit card issuer. And so once they open that secured credit card, then they have to think about, "Okay, well which expenses am I going to move to that credit card?" And I always suggest start with gas, right? Nobody spends more for gas than they have to, and so that's a very easy budget item to begin putting on a secured credit card. And then, very critical, they have to pay that credit card off every month. And that secured credit card will help them to build credit over time because, again, time is on their side.
Rob West: Yeah, no doubt about that. Now, of course, sticking to a budget, Kelly, is not just about controlling expenses. These students also have to think about their income when it comes to building a budget. So what should students be thinking about beyond just the paycheck when it comes to working during the school year?
Dr. Kelly Rush: Well, I really like to see students working a consistent part-time job during the college years. You know, it shows that they can juggle responsibilities of schoolwork and employment, builds that discipline of being a faithful steward over time. And my favorite part-time jobs are the ones that have high impact with reasonable flexibility. It's pretty hard to find a position where they can come and go whenever they want to, but with some reasonable flexibility for them. I think of things like go get a referee certification, or learn to cut hair on campus. Those are really great ways to have high ROI on some really easy investments of their own time. And then just keep in mind what what they're moving towards. Maybe if they're a nursing major, they're going to be working at a local hospital, but trying to find those positions that are in their field of study are going to be a blessing for them over the long run.
Rob West: Yeah, that's really helpful. Kelly, we've got just about a minute left, so before we wrap up, let's finish with a few common pitfalls. What are some of the issues college students need to be cautious of as they begin to build their budget?
Dr. Kelly Rush: Well, one of the pitfalls that I'm seeing right now is just a desire for a shortcut. Students are tempted to be drawn to that biggest financial return in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of sacrifice—that's just human nature. And so that shortcut is showing up on college campuses especially right now in terms of this growing popularity of sports betting. And I liken the rise of sports betting on college campuses to a modern-day gateway drug. It's addictive, it leads to escalating financial snares, and it can be really dangerous for college students. You know, Paul told Timothy that "those who would be rich fall into a temptation and a trap and many foolish harmful desires." It's not that they may fall into a trap, they do fall into a trap. Then many foolish and harmful desires escalate into financial destruction. And that just brings us back to the time value of money. Wise stewards don't try to circumvent time. They use the time that's on their side to follow biblical wisdom. They gather little by little over time, they watch those financial resources grow, they see the blessing of time that the Lord gave them.
Rob West: Wow. This has been so good, Kelly. We have given students and their parents a lot to think of. We really appreciate you being here today.
Dr. Kelly Rush: Oh, thanks for having me, Rob.
Rob West: Absolutely. That's Kelly Rush, professor of finance at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. And if you want to check out the FaithFi app that Kelly mentioned, just go to faithfi.com and click "App." Back with your questions after this: 800-525-7000. Stick around.
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Rob West: Great to have you with us today on Faith & Finance here on American Family Radio. We're taking your calls today at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Great to have Kelly Rush on today. Always fun to hear her perspective as she leads the financial planning program at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Such insight into what college students are thinking about as she prepares the next generation of financial advisors. But we're ready to turn the corner to your questions today here in just a moment, so go ahead and call right now. The team is standing by: 800-525-7000.
But first, in the news today, a recent Bankrate study found that 87% of homebuyers paid more than the most competitive mortgage rate available when financing their home. According to the study, the typical borrower ends up paying more than $3,300 extra each year simply because they didn't secure the best rate available. The research analyzed more than 3 million mortgage loans made in 2025, making it one of the most comprehensive looks at how much Americans may be overpaying for their home loans. Now, this is why I always tell prospective buyers to shop around before choosing a mortgage lender. Think about it: for most families, buying a home is the largest financial transaction they'll ever make, yet many borrowers accept the first loan offer they receive without comparing alternatives. And even a small difference in your interest rate can translate into thousands of dollars—tens of thousands of dollars—over the life of the mortgage. Taking the time to compare offers from several lenders could be one of the highest-paying financial decisions you'll ever make. But don't only focus on the interest rate; you need to compare the annual percentage rate (what's known as the APR), the lender fees, the closing costs, the discount points (if you have any), and the terms to understand the true cost of borrowing. It's also wise to get pre-approved by more than one lender before making an offer on a home. That may give you negotiating leverage and help ensure you're getting a competitive deal. So, taking the time to do your homework before signing those mortgage papers for that biggest transaction you'll likely ever have is a practical way to make sure that we're counting the cost and not overspending. So, again, I'd recommend at least three offers.
All right, we're going to dive into your questions today. We're ready to go, and we're going to begin in Wyoming. Russ, you'll be first up today, sir. Go ahead.
Russ: Hey, good morning. We had—before, you had told us about recommending like a Savor Card or whatever for our college students for a credit card, and it didn't work out because they didn't have credit, just like the show this morning. So, for the secured card, is there a—what's the best place to go and apply for a secured credit card for college students? And does it matter where they go to do that?
Rob West: You know, it really changes periodically because depending on who has the best offers at any given time, it really does require you to shop around. I mean, some of the best right now would be Discover's Discover it Secured. It has no annual fee, it does offer cash back, and it's got a path to upgrading to an unsecured card with responsible use. So, I would probably check that out. Again, it's called Discover it Secured. The other one is Capital One. They've got the Capital One Quicksilver Secured—another excellent option. Again, no annual fee, and they do have rewards. So, I'd probably look at those two. You can also shop around on NerdWallet or Bankrate. They are constantly updating their system with the latest data on who has the very best programs out there. But I would say one of those two would be a great option. Is this for a son or daughter?
Russ: Both. Two in college, and there's going to be three next year. So, they're all at that stage where they're trying to figure out what to do. And it's really funny—my daughter was denied, my son hasn't applied, but he's getting tons of junk mail all of a sudden in the mail for all these credit cards! And it's like, "Well..." But that's perfect. So, yeah, the denied one, the Savor, we did try, but none of the kids have any credit. And so this is really good. I think we'll try that route and see what we can do with, like you said this morning on the show, with the secured card to build that credit for them.
Rob West: Yeah. I mean, the other option is an authorized user. And, you know, some people go that route. I mean, it helps to establish credit history, you know, there's no security deposit required like with that secured card. And, you know, as long as the primary account holder—so in this case, you—has a long history and a low balance and on-time payments, then obviously it can boost the credit profile without a whole lot of work. But just remember that just like the good information flows, the bad will too. And so if for some reason you missed a payment or you had balances up above 30% of the limit (which has to do with your credit utilization, which, by the way, is the largest factor in the credit score), then it actually could hurt the child's credit, so you certainly wouldn't want that. And, obviously, you're legally responsible for charges. But they don't even have to have access to the card; most people do it just simply for the benefit of getting that long-standing history that can, in a very short period of time, give them more credit. So, you know, that would be the other option. That's probably the most common strategy people use, but if you want to stay with just their own, I think the secured card's the way to go.
Russ: Should we have done that earlier if they're already in college? Is that something...
Rob West: Not necessarily. No, I don't think so, because remember, as soon as that starts flowing, all of those accounts are going to be there, including the account history, and the credit score is generated in real time based on the data available in the report at that moment. So, you know, as long as that starts flowing in, once you generate that score, it's going to pick up that data and factor it into the score itself. So, you know, no issue that it hasn't happened until now. But, you know, there is that other factor there that just, you know, if something went awry in your financial life, then, you know, all of that data is going to pass over, and you just need to know that.
Russ: That's very good. Hey, thank you so much. Really appreciate all your wisdom.
Rob West: Absolutely. Thanks for your call, Russ. 800-525-7000 is the number to call. We're taking your questions today, and we will get back to those lines here in just a moment. Again, that number, with lines filling up: 800-525-7000. Whether you're trying to pay down some debt, maybe you're investing for the future, or perhaps you're thinking about how to give wisely, whatever it is, we'd love to chat with you today. We have, looks like, a few lines open: 800-525-7000.
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Rob West: Helping you see God as your ultimate treasure, this is Faith & Finance on American Family Radio. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions today. We've got uh three lines open: 800-525-7000. Call right now. Let's go out to Texas. Hi, Ruby, how can I help you?
Rob West: Hi, Ruby, are you with us?
Rob West: All right, we're going to work on that, see if we can get Ruby on the line. Let's go uh to Jefferson. Jefferson, go right ahead.
Jefferson: Oh, hello, sir. Uh so, my basically my question is that I bought a brand new car in two years ago in 2024, and now, um I have a negative equity, you know? The car worth only $20k and I owe the bank $26,000. Yeah. And I cannot sell the car. And since I'm working towing cars across United States, I'm not using this car and and I don't know what to do to get rid of this car, you know? I don't know if you guys can help me.
Rob West: Mm, yeah. Yeah, I'd be happy to weigh in. Uh this is what we call upside down uh when you have an auto loan that's worth more than the car is actually worth. And, you know, usually the best financial choice is just to keep the car and keep making the payments. Uh you know, cars depreciate the fastest in the first few years, and as you pay down the loan, you would eventually build positive equity—get to a place where you owe less than the car is worth over time. And and so that's usually the best option is just to continue to pay it out to get to a place where, you know, you have positive equity. The other option is you pay extra toward the principal. So, you know, maybe even an extra $50 to $100 a month could help you reduce that negative equity faster. Um one option is to refinance, and so, you know, if you have the ability um to lower the interest rate or the monthly payment, but that's not going to eliminate the negative equity. Um the third option would be to sell the car, uh and that really, you know, is only an option if you can come up with the $6,000 difference. Or in some cases, people roll it into another loan, but I don't generally recommend that because then you're just going to kind of carry that problem over into the next one. Um so I would avoid trading it in un- unless absolutely necessary because, you know, that's uh that's going to make your next vehicle even more expensive. Um so I understand you're you don't need the car, you're not using it. Um do you have the ability to write that check, that you know, the difference between what you might sell it for privately and what you owe on it so you could just kind of walk away from this car and uh, you know, work on the next one? Or uh is that not an option?
Jefferson: I think um the best option right now um it will be like keep making the payment since my credit score is like 760 right now, so lower the interest rate would not an option right now. But yeah, I think I will just keep paying, you know? When I have a positive equity and then I'll be able to sell. But yeah, that that helps a lot. Uh thank you.
Rob West: Absolutely. Yeah, I think you're on the right track there. I think you just keep paying that out, add a little extra when you can. Eventually, you will be in a positive equity situation if you just stay at it, because remember that uh that depreciation happens much more significantly in the first couple of years than in the years following. And so that's going to slow down and and hopefully you'll catch up with it here and uh and be in a positive situation. And then as soon as you are—and you could go to kbb.com or edmunds.com to just monitor the value of that car and what you might be able to sell it for on the open market—and at some point those two things will cross where your equity is more than your balance. Hey, we appreciate your call, sir. Uh if we can help further, let us know. God bless you. Uh let's try to go back to Texas. Ruby, are you with us?
Ruby: Yes, hello.
Rob West: Great. Hi, how can I help?
Ruby: Uh hi, Rob. Thank you for taking my call. I just love your show. I have learned so much through your show, and I really, really appreciate you.
Rob West: Oh, that's very kind. Thank you.
Ruby: Um well, I'm in a situation I'm in a rental, and uh love my home. I've been in it for five years. However, unfortunately, the landlord, for whatever reason, is kind of letting it deteriorate and won't really respond to repair requests any longer. So, I'm kind of in a situation where I've got to go. I've got to I've got to figure out what to do. Um and I'm trying to decide, should I rent again or uh buy? Because I'm getting older and I'm trying to figure out what would be the best path forward. Do I invest in something now or do I just—because the rent is so high. Um I've been fortunate to stay under the way under the market in this house, um but that could have been the strategy all along of of putting up with stuff which I have over the years. Um but it's just kind of come to a place where I need to make a a decision.
Rob West: Yes. Yeah, I totally understand, and I think that's a good decision just given the lack of attention your landlord is giving to that property. Um how long do you expect to stay in the area? I mean, do you, based on everything you know today, are you there for the long haul?
Ruby: Uh yes, it seems like I'm I'm in this area for the long haul, yes.
Rob West: Okay. And how much would you have for a down payment without touching any kind of emergency reserves?
Ruby: Um if I really pulled just everything, maybe $20,000. I'm really not even close to the 50, even, you know, in a kind of a low-cost property. Um so I'm I'm really not that in that ideal situation. I do have a good emergency fund. I have a a a good fund toward my next car because my car is 10 years old and I'm going to need to think about replacing it.
Rob West: Great.
Rob West: Yeah.
Ruby: But um but for the down payment of the house, you know, not not touching those two funds, 20 would be like the max.
Rob West: Yeah. Yeah, and I think that's great that you're on...
Ruby: And I don't have any debts.
Rob West: Okay, excellent. Well, that's really encouraging. What about your self-employment income? Is that pretty stable or does that kind of bounce around depending on the season?
Ruby: Um it's it I would say $5,000 uh uh um or I mean, it's right around 90, but it it can it can drop or or go up about 5,000.
Rob West: Okay. All right. Yeah, that's great. And that's been the case for years?
Ruby: Yes.
Rob West: Okay. And what about long-term retirement savings? Have you been able to put something away there?
Ruby: Yes, um I think uh I have an IRA a I have a Roth IRA that is around 230, 240, and that's basically the saving the uh retirement savings. I I am with CKA.
Rob West: Okay, great.
Ruby: And um he's he's, you know, taking care of that.
Rob West: Excellent. Yeah. So, I think I mean, you've got all the pieces in place. I love that you're debt-free, you're working with an advisor, you're on track for retirement, uh you've got these uh funds for replacing the vehicle. Uh that's all good. I think the key on the house is, yeah, I mean, I would love for you to be able to put 20% down. I'd love for that principal, interest, taxes, and insurance payment to be less than 30%, better yet 25% of your take-home pay. Uh but I realize home affordability is really challenging right now, and so, you know, that may or may not be possible. But I would start with the budget and just see whether it does in fact fit. If it does, great. I love the idea of you buying. Have you been out looking at what might fit in your budget that could be an option for you?
Ruby: Yes, um and it seems like if if the if the calculators are projecting correctly, that my rent would be about the same as my mortgage.
Rob West: Okay, let's do this. Let's finish up off the air. I've got to hit this break, but uh we'll be right back on Faith & Finance. Stay with us.
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Rob West: Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance here on American Family Radio. Hey, if you love the broadcast, you listen regularly, we'd invite you to support the ministry by making a one-time gift or consider becoming a FaithFi Partner with a gift of $35 a month or more, or $400 a year. And as a way of saying thanks, we'll send you four issues of our magazine, Faithful Steward. We'll send you all of our new studies and devotionals, including our new field guides. In fact, we just got word that next week, Field Guide Number One, How Much Money Is Enough? arrives, helping you define enough for your lifestyle. And um, we're really excited to get that in hand. All of those resources go to our—go to our partners uh throughout the year, in addition to a quarterly newsletter to allow you to celebrate with us all that God is doing here at the ministry. So, if you'd like to support our work, we'd be grateful. Just head to faithfi.com/give. That's faithfi.com/give. All right, here in the final segment, we'll get to as many calls as we can. Let's head right back to the phones. Let's go out to Louisiana and Lois. Go right ahead.
Louis: Hey. Hey Rob, you can hear me?
Rob West: Yes, sir. How are you?
Louis: Doing well, Rob. Uh, Rob, I'm sorry. Uh—
Rob West: That's okay.
Louis: Yeah, Rob, I was listening yesterday, and I know y'all in the uh the Preborn campaign, and we've been giving to Preborn back, I think, probably back with Dan Celia.
Rob West: Yes.
Louis: And uh y'all just mentioned about, you know, that the $28 goes totally towards the uh ultrasound machines and stuff. And I was just wondering the administrative costs—in other words, like we give monthly, does that go directly to the the the uh ultrasound machines or do that pay some of the administrative costs? I know like 80 Days of Hope, you know, people like you guys, AFA, and stuff supports them. I'm just wondering, what about Preborn?
Rob West: Yeah, it's a great question. So other supporters who designate their gifts directly for the administrative and fundraising costs cover those other costs. So, if you don't designate it to administration—and typically, they have a group of people that just, you know, in order for them to allow other givers to give directly to uh the cost of the ultrasounds, they have a special group of people that fund those administrative costs, which allows that to happen. So, if you're giving regularly, that's going straight to uh providing the free ultrasounds, unless you've designated it otherwise.
Louis: Good. Good.
Rob West: Yeah.
Louis: Appreciate the information, Rob. I appreciate what y'all do. Uh, I'm 74 years old, I've learned a lot listening to you as often as I can and stuff. Uh, just got Mrs. Betty a credit card in her name, that's something you had brought up about, you know, making sure that your wife has a credit card in her name and not just a user of mine. And then we also do the uh charitable gift distributions out of our—that's something that you taught us, too, and stuff. So, uh, we do really appreciate what you do and everything. And uh we're not a regular monthly giver, but we do we do give to you guys uh at least once or twice a year.
Rob West: That's incredible. Well, Louis, thank you for that. You're obviously listening regularly, you're taking notes, you're applying what you're hearing. [Laughter] I'm grateful. Thanks for sharing that, my friend. Hey, God bless you. By the way, what Louis is talking about is between now and August the 31st, uh we're partnering with Preborn, and every $28 given goes directly to 100% of it uh to fund free ultrasounds for moms considering abortion. In uh partnering with pregnancy centers, when they see their babies, 80% of the time, they choose life. And uh Preborn uh shares the gospel with them. An incredible ministry doing amazing work, and if you'd like to be a part of helping us reach our goal of 1,500 free ultrasounds between now and August the 31st, uh just head to faithfi.com/preborn. All right, uh Walker Wildmon is here. Walker joins us on Fridays to talk about the work AFA is doing in corporate engagement. And uh, Walker, I'm out here in Napa Valley today with Jerry Bowyer. We actually met uh with uh uh some priests and bishops from the Catholic Church uh over the last couple of days, talking about partnering Catholics and Protestants to uh lean into this opportunity for corporate engagement. And everybody is incredibly excited. It seems like there's just really uh a renewed understanding and interest in the opportunity that you and the team at AFA have been uh experiencing here for the last couple of years. It's really amazing, isn't it?
Walker Wildmon: Yeah, it is. And as Jerry mentions repeatedly throughout the months and the weeks that we work on this, the amount of capital that is possessed or owned by Christians, by believers, but is not being utilized for corporate engagement and for the advancement of the gospel and righteousness is is staggering—the billions of dollars that are out there, um, that are just sitting on the sidelines, so to speak. So, um, you know, from an investment standpoint, we we view this corporate engagement as part of your investment strategy, and that's what we've come to adopt here at AFA. And and to put, you know, an analogy in place, you know, the reason people invest their money is because they want to get a return. They don't want it to be stagnant, they don't want it to uh actually lose value through inflation, so they invest it, and they expect a return. And so, we're viewing uh we're viewing corporate uh shareholder engagement through the same lens. Uh, if it's sitting still, nobody's utilizing it, well, it's going to waste. So, we're we're putting our votes uh to use and we're engaging with companies. And Jerry and his team working with Inspire Investing and ADF just recently got a huge victory with Microsoft in that they quit using the SPLC uh in order to research and make decisions, business decisions on uh on various non-profits. And so, that was a big deal, and that wouldn't have happened had Inspire uh not chosen to partner with Jerry and ADF on this corporate engagement.
Rob West: Wow, yeah, incredible. And it seems like we're hearing about those wins all the time. I mean, it's becoming just a new day uh with regard to Christians um advocating for religious values and religious freedom in many cases with these companies. Uh, how are you all setting your agenda as you look out over the next shareholder engagement season? What does that look like to select the companies you're going to engage with?
Walker Wildmon: Yeah, we're looking at at core issues um that are uh prominent issues amongst the general public, meaning that many people statistically care about the issue. And then, of course, we're syncing it up with our core values at AFA to make sure make sure it aligns with our with our core values and our Christian faith. Um, so for example, some of the issues that we're looking at is um, we're actually We've been targeting ESG, this environmental, social, governance agenda, uh, because it's actually unbiblical at its core, the ESG model. It's very unbiblical, it's poor stewardship, it's idolization of the planet as opposed to our Creator and human beings created in His image. And so, there's some very, very, um, wrong things about the ESG movement, and it actually leads to uh mass amounts of human suffering uh through, you know, cutting resources and not utilizing capital properly. Um, so we're we're looking at that. Uh, of course, one of the top issues that has been really our bread and butter is uh protecting children, uh not only from transgender procedures, but also from these harms of the internet and these exploited exploited exploitative uh softwares and websites that are allowing minors to access stuff that they should never be able to see. Um, so that's just two or three uh issues that we're working on, but they're all centered on biblical values, uh protecting families, and ensuring uh that these companies are being responsible uh to the general public and to preserving uh biblical values in our culture.
Rob West: Yeah. Incredible work, Walker. I'll tell you, it's amazing to see how effective this new tool in the tool belt is to uh promote biblical values out there in the marketplace and in our culture, and it's making a real difference. Appreciate the update as always, my friend. Thanks for your time.
Walker Wildmon: Thanks, Rob. Appreciate it, brother.
Rob West: All right. That's Walker Wildmon with the American Family Association. He joins us each Friday in this segment uh to share an update on the team's work in corporate engagement. Let's round out the broadcast today. We have time to uh get to one more call. Let's uh head to Virginia. And, um, Virginia, I understand you have a question about reverse mortgages, go ahead.
PV: Praise the Lord. Thank you for taking my call. This—I wanted to know, I'll be 79 in August, and so I wanted to know what is the advantage and the disadvantage of a reverse mortgage that I'm hearing about, some are negative, some are positive, but I thought I'd ask an expert [Laughter] uh and a brother that would actually know. What are the disadvantages and the advantages of a reverse mortgage?
Rob West: Yeah, I'd be happy to weigh in on that. Um, you said, what did you say your age was?
PV: 79 in Aug- in—
Rob West: Very good. Yeah, it's uh it can be a helpful tool for the right person. I would say it's not a good fit for everyone. The pros are, you get to stay in your home while accessing some of your home's equity, and there's no required monthly mortgage payment. So, you still pay the property taxes, the homeowner's insurance, you have to maintain the home, but the mortgage payment itself is optional, and it's a way to tap into that equity, and of course, because it's your equity, there's—it's tax-free, um, because it's loan proceeds, it's not income. Most people take it as a line of credit uh so they can access it if they need to improve the home, if they wanted to take a, you know, spend money beyond their monthly expenses, maybe take a trip every couple of years, something like that. But in that season of life, if you're kind of living on Social Security alone, you haven't saved enough for retirement, it's a way that uh some folks will just tap into that home equity and be able to use that without um you, you know, in any way having any kind of repercussions, because um, you know, once you pass away or sell that home, then the home would be sold, the proceeds would be paid off, and anything that remains in terms of equity uh would be available for your heirs. Maybe the only downside is the upfront upfront cost and fees, a little higher than a traditional mortgage, but I would say for the right person, it can make a lot of sense. Uh PV, if you want to hang on the line, our team will get your information, and we can get you in touch with somebody who can give you a lot more information. I'll also send you a copy of Harlan Accola's book called Home Equity in Reverse Mortgages, and perhaps that'll be helpful, you can do some reading on the topic. That'll be our gift to you. Thanks for calling today. Folks, that's going to do it for us. Big thanks to my team today: Devin, Patty, Jim, and everybody here at FaithFi making this possible. Again, if you want to support the ministry, just head to faithfi.com/give. Become a partner today when you give $35 a month or $400 a year. It's a great way to support this listener-supported ministry. Hope you'll come back and join us next week, we'll do it all over again. Until then, may God bless you. Bye-bye.
Announcer: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.
Rob West: College students may be pros at pulling off last-minute study sessions, but when it comes to finances, cramming just doesn't cut it. Hi, I'm Rob West. We often say that everyone needs a budget, and for college students, that might be even more crucial. Today, Dr. Kelly Rush joins us with practical budgeting advice every college student should hear. And then it's on to your calls and questions at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith & Finance on American Family Radio. Biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well, our guest today is my friend, Dr. Kelly Rush, a finance professor, division chair, and financial planning program coordinator at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio. She's also on the board of directors at Kingdom Advisors. She's well-versed in the intersection of faith and finances, and today she's here to help us tackle an important topic for students and their families—that is, how to build a solid college budget. Kelly, great to have you back with us.
Dr. Kelly Rush: Oh, I really like this topic. Rob, thanks for having me.
Rob West: Kelly, you work with students every day, so let me start with the big picture. Why is it so important for college students to learn how to manage their money at this stage?
Dr. Kelly Rush: I'm reminded of Proverbs 22, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." We apply that verse to a lot of areas in parenting, but it holds true in this area of finances and wanting our children to develop those good habits, especially during the college years so that they'll continue those down the road. And so whatever those habits are that they're developing during those critical college years is either going to start them on a path of financial success or cause later regrets down the road that they'll then have to overcome.
Rob West: Yeah, that's right. The financial foundation is important. Now, you interact with a lot of college students, Kelly. So, what do you experience? I mean, do they tend to have budgets, or is that more of an exception if they do?
Dr. Kelly Rush: Well, yes and no. A lot of college students have a mental budget—sometimes we call that mental accounting—but very few have an actual written budget. And they might have a general sense of what they should be spending, but even if they have that general sense, they still don't track their spending. And so they don't have a clear picture of where the finances are going, and they don't have a written budget to compare anything to. And so over time, what they find is that they're actually spending more than they realize, they're watching those bank accounts dwindle more quickly than they than they anticipate, and they genuinely don't have a sense of where the money is going. So, it's easy for a college student to think, "Well, I don't have normal expenses, my I have a lot of variability, and so I'll just have a budget later on," but we want to develop those habits early on so that they'll stay with the student and they'll continue those budgeting practices on into the future.
Rob West: Yeah, that's well said. Now, there's some critical lessons or ideas that they need to learn at this stage. One of those, I know, is the time value of money. Why is that such a key foundational concept for college students in particular?
Dr. Kelly Rush: Time value of money really is critical because the relationship between time and money is not random. There's a system to it; it's logical, it's reasonable. It really reminds me of the orderly God that we serve. There's an order to this time and money relationship. And so when college students learn how the time value of money variables work together, they realize that the most powerful variable in every time value of money calculation is always time. Without exception, the financial destination boils down to time and that need to use time wisely.
Rob West: Yeah. Now let's apply that key concept, then, Kelly—the time value of money—to budgeting.
Dr. Kelly Rush: Well, often in budgeting, the question comes up, "Well, how much do I save?" or, "When I save, how much am I going to earn on that on that investment?" And even the broader financial industry, a lot of attention is given to a savings rate, return on investments—those are definitely important variables. But because time is the most powerful variable, college students need to use the budgeting process early on to have the best impact down the road. You know, Scripture speaks of time often. The psalmist asked the Lord to "teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom." And Paul told the church in Ephesus to walk carefully, not as fools but as wise, because we're supposed to redeem the time. So without exception, the most important thing college students need to understand is that they have time on their side. And if they start early—saving early, giving early, stewarding wisely from the very start—all of those practices go into building a budget, and all of them have a positive impact with time.
Rob West: That is so good. When we come back from this break, we'll talk about credit, when is the right time to open a bank account, and much more. Kelly Rush here today. We're talking college students. Following this interview, your questions today at 800-525-7000. Stay with us, we'll be right back.
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Rob West: Thanks for joining us today on Faith & Finance here on American Family Radio. We're talking Budgets 101 for College Students. Perhaps you're a college student, or you have one in your life. Well, we've got a great guest today. My friend, Dr. Kelly Rush, is finance professor, division chair, and financial planning program coordinator at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio. And she's been sharing with us some of these key foundational concepts and ideas that are so important for college students. And Kelly, before the break, you were talking about the importance of the time value of money, and you made this really important distinction that really, time is on your side when you're a college student, and that's important. But when you say that, is that always true in terms of money?
Dr. Kelly Rush: Well, this is a great clarification to make, Rob, so thank you. Time is always on a saver's side. It's always on an investor's side because the longer runway for those good practices leads to a positive impact down the road. But time has the opposite impact for debtors. Long runways for someone who's trying to pay off debt means that more interest is paid, so time is not on a debtor's side. If college students can build good financial habits early on, if they can avoid that consumer debt, if they can steward well early, they will always have a compounded blessing over time.
Rob West: Hm, yeah. Let's shift to budgeting, Kelly. I know another concept you've talked about is this idea of momentum. You say that money has momentum in college. Unpack that for us.
Dr. Kelly Rush: Oh, absolutely. I tell students that money moves, and money has momentum. I mean, I think about my kids when they were little. They saved for a few big purchases. They saved for that first car, they saved for their portion of the college tuition. But they didn't understand the small purchases that Mom and Dad were making all of the time. And so when you get to college and those small purchases tend to fall on the shoulders of the college student, they just don't realize how many transactions happen in the course of normal day-to-day life—whether that's ordering pizza, or coffee run, or streaming services, or whatever those things are. The frequency of small purchases tends to gain momentum throughout college. The sheer number of expenses that results in the momentum of how money moves over time.
Rob West: Hm, yeah. That's really helpful and a powerful idea. Let's turn to practical tools. Kelly, do you have any favorite go-to resources for students who are just getting started with budgeting or are facing the momentum of money moving that you just described?
Dr. Kelly Rush: For sure. So for young children, a lot of parents will use the envelope system. They'll have a few budgeting categories, and that's a really great way to tangibly teach young kids about money, but that's probably not going to be the plan for a college student. I don't know if you've heard college students say this, but there is this mindset out there that cash doesn't count. And they'll just say that real casually, "Oh, cash doesn't count." As in, when money is moving, they think of the cash as already being spent because it never shows up in an online transaction. So because Gen Z operates in the world of apps and easy online access, we want to meet them where they are. And so we want to use those finance apps. I really like the FaithFi app. It's a great place to begin with budgeting, it's customizable to meet the student's needs, has different money management options. It's a great place to be a very practical resource for college students.
Rob West: Well, I couldn't agree more. You can go to faithfi.com to check it out. Let me stay in the practical category, Kelly. At what point do you think students should open their own bank accounts and start managing money independently, rather than relying on Mom and Dad?
Dr. Kelly Rush: Oh, that's a great question, Rob. And so, something that we say at our house all the time is that we're on the same team, right? Parents and students are on the same team. And so in order to be on the same team, we want to have a game plan. And parents need to communicate to their students the game plan of turning over the expenses to the college student—when will they pay for their own gas, when do they pay for their own clothes, their own cell phone, and so on. And so we need to communicate not just which expenses are going to move to the college students, but when do they move. And so having a plan for that really puts people on the same team, on the same page, and then they can map out how much to budget for, when to budget for, and when those expenses move to the student's responsibility. That is probably the time when they're going to want to open up their own bank account, have their own responsibility for those specific expenses that Mom and Dad said, "Okay, now these are yours."
Rob West: Yeah, and I think one of the keys there, and you said this, is clear communication. Kelly, naturally, one of the other conversations that needs to be had is around credit. Should college students start building credit now, or do they wait until after graduation?
Dr. Kelly Rush: You know, I think either's going to be fine in the long run, but there really is some value in starting the process of building credit during college. That longer runway of building credit can have a benefit down the road for that first apartment, or when they're shopping for insurance, and things like that. So what I suggest is starting with a secured credit card where a one-time refundable deposit is put down and that acts as collateral to the credit card issuer. And so once they open that secured credit card, then they have to think about, "Okay, well which expenses am I going to move to that credit card?" And I always suggest start with gas, right? Nobody spends more for gas than they have to, and so that's a very easy budget item to begin putting on a secured credit card. And then, very critical, they have to pay that credit card off every month. And that secured credit card will help them to build credit over time because, again, time is on their side.
Rob West: Yeah, no doubt about that. Now, of course, sticking to a budget, Kelly, is not just about controlling expenses. These students also have to think about their income when it comes to building a budget. So what should students be thinking about beyond just the paycheck when it comes to working during the school year?
Dr. Kelly Rush: Well, I really like to see students working a consistent part-time job during the college years. You know, it shows that they can juggle responsibilities of schoolwork and employment, builds that discipline of being a faithful steward over time. And my favorite part-time jobs are the ones that have high impact with reasonable flexibility. It's pretty hard to find a position where they can come and go whenever they want to, but with some reasonable flexibility for them. I think of things like go get a referee certification, or learn to cut hair on campus. Those are really great ways to have high ROI on some really easy investments of their own time. And then just keep in mind what what they're moving towards. Maybe if they're a nursing major, they're going to be working at a local hospital, but trying to find those positions that are in their field of study are going to be a blessing for them over the long run.
Rob West: Yeah, that's really helpful. Kelly, we've got just about a minute left, so before we wrap up, let's finish with a few common pitfalls. What are some of the issues college students need to be cautious of as they begin to build their budget?
Dr. Kelly Rush: Well, one of the pitfalls that I'm seeing right now is just a desire for a shortcut. Students are tempted to be drawn to that biggest financial return in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of sacrifice—that's just human nature. And so that shortcut is showing up on college campuses especially right now in terms of this growing popularity of sports betting. And I liken the rise of sports betting on college campuses to a modern-day gateway drug. It's addictive, it leads to escalating financial snares, and it can be really dangerous for college students. You know, Paul told Timothy that "those who would be rich fall into a temptation and a trap and many foolish harmful desires." It's not that they may fall into a trap, they do fall into a trap. Then many foolish and harmful desires escalate into financial destruction. And that just brings us back to the time value of money. Wise stewards don't try to circumvent time. They use the time that's on their side to follow biblical wisdom. They gather little by little over time, they watch those financial resources grow, they see the blessing of time that the Lord gave them.
Rob West: Wow. This has been so good, Kelly. We have given students and their parents a lot to think of. We really appreciate you being here today.
Dr. Kelly Rush: Oh, thanks for having me, Rob.
Rob West: Absolutely. That's Kelly Rush, professor of finance at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. And if you want to check out the FaithFi app that Kelly mentioned, just go to faithfi.com and click "App." Back with your questions after this: 800-525-7000. Stick around.
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Rob West: Great to have you with us today on Faith & Finance here on American Family Radio. We're taking your calls today at 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Great to have Kelly Rush on today. Always fun to hear her perspective as she leads the financial planning program at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Such insight into what college students are thinking about as she prepares the next generation of financial advisors. But we're ready to turn the corner to your questions today here in just a moment, so go ahead and call right now. The team is standing by: 800-525-7000.
But first, in the news today, a recent Bankrate study found that 87% of homebuyers paid more than the most competitive mortgage rate available when financing their home. According to the study, the typical borrower ends up paying more than $3,300 extra each year simply because they didn't secure the best rate available. The research analyzed more than 3 million mortgage loans made in 2025, making it one of the most comprehensive looks at how much Americans may be overpaying for their home loans. Now, this is why I always tell prospective buyers to shop around before choosing a mortgage lender. Think about it: for most families, buying a home is the largest financial transaction they'll ever make, yet many borrowers accept the first loan offer they receive without comparing alternatives. And even a small difference in your interest rate can translate into thousands of dollars—tens of thousands of dollars—over the life of the mortgage. Taking the time to compare offers from several lenders could be one of the highest-paying financial decisions you'll ever make. But don't only focus on the interest rate; you need to compare the annual percentage rate (what's known as the APR), the lender fees, the closing costs, the discount points (if you have any), and the terms to understand the true cost of borrowing. It's also wise to get pre-approved by more than one lender before making an offer on a home. That may give you negotiating leverage and help ensure you're getting a competitive deal. So, taking the time to do your homework before signing those mortgage papers for that biggest transaction you'll likely ever have is a practical way to make sure that we're counting the cost and not overspending. So, again, I'd recommend at least three offers.
All right, we're going to dive into your questions today. We're ready to go, and we're going to begin in Wyoming. Russ, you'll be first up today, sir. Go ahead.
Russ: Hey, good morning. We had—before, you had told us about recommending like a Savor Card or whatever for our college students for a credit card, and it didn't work out because they didn't have credit, just like the show this morning. So, for the secured card, is there a—what's the best place to go and apply for a secured credit card for college students? And does it matter where they go to do that?
Rob West: You know, it really changes periodically because depending on who has the best offers at any given time, it really does require you to shop around. I mean, some of the best right now would be Discover's Discover it Secured. It has no annual fee, it does offer cash back, and it's got a path to upgrading to an unsecured card with responsible use. So, I would probably check that out. Again, it's called Discover it Secured. The other one is Capital One. They've got the Capital One Quicksilver Secured—another excellent option. Again, no annual fee, and they do have rewards. So, I'd probably look at those two. You can also shop around on NerdWallet or Bankrate. They are constantly updating their system with the latest data on who has the very best programs out there. But I would say one of those two would be a great option. Is this for a son or daughter?
Russ: Both. Two in college, and there's going to be three next year. So, they're all at that stage where they're trying to figure out what to do. And it's really funny—my daughter was denied, my son hasn't applied, but he's getting tons of junk mail all of a sudden in the mail for all these credit cards! And it's like, "Well..." But that's perfect. So, yeah, the denied one, the Savor, we did try, but none of the kids have any credit. And so this is really good. I think we'll try that route and see what we can do with, like you said this morning on the show, with the secured card to build that credit for them.
Rob West: Yeah. I mean, the other option is an authorized user. And, you know, some people go that route. I mean, it helps to establish credit history, you know, there's no security deposit required like with that secured card. And, you know, as long as the primary account holder—so in this case, you—has a long history and a low balance and on-time payments, then obviously it can boost the credit profile without a whole lot of work. But just remember that just like the good information flows, the bad will too. And so if for some reason you missed a payment or you had balances up above 30% of the limit (which has to do with your credit utilization, which, by the way, is the largest factor in the credit score), then it actually could hurt the child's credit, so you certainly wouldn't want that. And, obviously, you're legally responsible for charges. But they don't even have to have access to the card; most people do it just simply for the benefit of getting that long-standing history that can, in a very short period of time, give them more credit. So, you know, that would be the other option. That's probably the most common strategy people use, but if you want to stay with just their own, I think the secured card's the way to go.
Russ: Should we have done that earlier if they're already in college? Is that something...
Rob West: Not necessarily. No, I don't think so, because remember, as soon as that starts flowing, all of those accounts are going to be there, including the account history, and the credit score is generated in real time based on the data available in the report at that moment. So, you know, as long as that starts flowing in, once you generate that score, it's going to pick up that data and factor it into the score itself. So, you know, no issue that it hasn't happened until now. But, you know, there is that other factor there that just, you know, if something went awry in your financial life, then, you know, all of that data is going to pass over, and you just need to know that.
Russ: That's very good. Hey, thank you so much. Really appreciate all your wisdom.
Rob West: Absolutely. Thanks for your call, Russ. 800-525-7000 is the number to call. We're taking your questions today, and we will get back to those lines here in just a moment. Again, that number, with lines filling up: 800-525-7000. Whether you're trying to pay down some debt, maybe you're investing for the future, or perhaps you're thinking about how to give wisely, whatever it is, we'd love to chat with you today. We have, looks like, a few lines open: 800-525-7000.
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Rob West: Helping you see God as your ultimate treasure, this is Faith & Finance on American Family Radio. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions today. We've got uh three lines open: 800-525-7000. Call right now. Let's go out to Texas. Hi, Ruby, how can I help you?
Rob West: Hi, Ruby, are you with us?
Rob West: All right, we're going to work on that, see if we can get Ruby on the line. Let's go uh to Jefferson. Jefferson, go right ahead.
Jefferson: Oh, hello, sir. Uh so, my basically my question is that I bought a brand new car in two years ago in 2024, and now, um I have a negative equity, you know? The car worth only $20k and I owe the bank $26,000. Yeah. And I cannot sell the car. And since I'm working towing cars across United States, I'm not using this car and and I don't know what to do to get rid of this car, you know? I don't know if you guys can help me.
Rob West: Mm, yeah. Yeah, I'd be happy to weigh in. Uh this is what we call upside down uh when you have an auto loan that's worth more than the car is actually worth. And, you know, usually the best financial choice is just to keep the car and keep making the payments. Uh you know, cars depreciate the fastest in the first few years, and as you pay down the loan, you would eventually build positive equity—get to a place where you owe less than the car is worth over time. And and so that's usually the best option is just to continue to pay it out to get to a place where, you know, you have positive equity. The other option is you pay extra toward the principal. So, you know, maybe even an extra $50 to $100 a month could help you reduce that negative equity faster. Um one option is to refinance, and so, you know, if you have the ability um to lower the interest rate or the monthly payment, but that's not going to eliminate the negative equity. Um the third option would be to sell the car, uh and that really, you know, is only an option if you can come up with the $6,000 difference. Or in some cases, people roll it into another loan, but I don't generally recommend that because then you're just going to kind of carry that problem over into the next one. Um so I would avoid trading it in un- unless absolutely necessary because, you know, that's uh that's going to make your next vehicle even more expensive. Um so I understand you're you don't need the car, you're not using it. Um do you have the ability to write that check, that you know, the difference between what you might sell it for privately and what you owe on it so you could just kind of walk away from this car and uh, you know, work on the next one? Or uh is that not an option?
Jefferson: I think um the best option right now um it will be like keep making the payment since my credit score is like 760 right now, so lower the interest rate would not an option right now. But yeah, I think I will just keep paying, you know? When I have a positive equity and then I'll be able to sell. But yeah, that that helps a lot. Uh thank you.
Rob West: Absolutely. Yeah, I think you're on the right track there. I think you just keep paying that out, add a little extra when you can. Eventually, you will be in a positive equity situation if you just stay at it, because remember that uh that depreciation happens much more significantly in the first couple of years than in the years following. And so that's going to slow down and and hopefully you'll catch up with it here and uh and be in a positive situation. And then as soon as you are—and you could go to kbb.com or edmunds.com to just monitor the value of that car and what you might be able to sell it for on the open market—and at some point those two things will cross where your equity is more than your balance. Hey, we appreciate your call, sir. Uh if we can help further, let us know. God bless you. Uh let's try to go back to Texas. Ruby, are you with us?
Ruby: Yes, hello.
Rob West: Great. Hi, how can I help?
Ruby: Uh hi, Rob. Thank you for taking my call. I just love your show. I have learned so much through your show, and I really, really appreciate you.
Rob West: Oh, that's very kind. Thank you.
Ruby: Um well, I'm in a situation I'm in a rental, and uh love my home. I've been in it for five years. However, unfortunately, the landlord, for whatever reason, is kind of letting it deteriorate and won't really respond to repair requests any longer. So, I'm kind of in a situation where I've got to go. I've got to I've got to figure out what to do. Um and I'm trying to decide, should I rent again or uh buy? Because I'm getting older and I'm trying to figure out what would be the best path forward. Do I invest in something now or do I just—because the rent is so high. Um I've been fortunate to stay under the way under the market in this house, um but that could have been the strategy all along of of putting up with stuff which I have over the years. Um but it's just kind of come to a place where I need to make a a decision.
Rob West: Yes. Yeah, I totally understand, and I think that's a good decision just given the lack of attention your landlord is giving to that property. Um how long do you expect to stay in the area? I mean, do you, based on everything you know today, are you there for the long haul?
Ruby: Uh yes, it seems like I'm I'm in this area for the long haul, yes.
Rob West: Okay. And how much would you have for a down payment without touching any kind of emergency reserves?
Ruby: Um if I really pulled just everything, maybe $20,000. I'm really not even close to the 50, even, you know, in a kind of a low-cost property. Um so I'm I'm really not that in that ideal situation. I do have a good emergency fund. I have a a a good fund toward my next car because my car is 10 years old and I'm going to need to think about replacing it.
Rob West: Great.
Rob West: Yeah.
Ruby: But um but for the down payment of the house, you know, not not touching those two funds, 20 would be like the max.
Rob West: Yeah. Yeah, and I think that's great that you're on...
Ruby: And I don't have any debts.
Rob West: Okay, excellent. Well, that's really encouraging. What about your self-employment income? Is that pretty stable or does that kind of bounce around depending on the season?
Ruby: Um it's it I would say $5,000 uh uh um or I mean, it's right around 90, but it it can it can drop or or go up about 5,000.
Rob West: Okay. All right. Yeah, that's great. And that's been the case for years?
Ruby: Yes.
Rob West: Okay. And what about long-term retirement savings? Have you been able to put something away there?
Ruby: Yes, um I think uh I have an IRA a I have a Roth IRA that is around 230, 240, and that's basically the saving the uh retirement savings. I I am with CKA.
Rob West: Okay, great.
Ruby: And um he's he's, you know, taking care of that.
Rob West: Excellent. Yeah. So, I think I mean, you've got all the pieces in place. I love that you're debt-free, you're working with an advisor, you're on track for retirement, uh you've got these uh funds for replacing the vehicle. Uh that's all good. I think the key on the house is, yeah, I mean, I would love for you to be able to put 20% down. I'd love for that principal, interest, taxes, and insurance payment to be less than 30%, better yet 25% of your take-home pay. Uh but I realize home affordability is really challenging right now, and so, you know, that may or may not be possible. But I would start with the budget and just see whether it does in fact fit. If it does, great. I love the idea of you buying. Have you been out looking at what might fit in your budget that could be an option for you?
Ruby: Yes, um and it seems like if if the if the calculators are projecting correctly, that my rent would be about the same as my mortgage.
Rob West: Okay, let's do this. Let's finish up off the air. I've got to hit this break, but uh we'll be right back on Faith & Finance. Stay with us.
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Rob West: Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance here on American Family Radio. Hey, if you love the broadcast, you listen regularly, we'd invite you to support the ministry by making a one-time gift or consider becoming a FaithFi Partner with a gift of $35 a month or more, or $400 a year. And as a way of saying thanks, we'll send you four issues of our magazine, Faithful Steward. We'll send you all of our new studies and devotionals, including our new field guides. In fact, we just got word that next week, Field Guide Number One, How Much Money Is Enough? arrives, helping you define enough for your lifestyle. And um, we're really excited to get that in hand. All of those resources go to our—go to our partners uh throughout the year, in addition to a quarterly newsletter to allow you to celebrate with us all that God is doing here at the ministry. So, if you'd like to support our work, we'd be grateful. Just head to faithfi.com/give. That's faithfi.com/give. All right, here in the final segment, we'll get to as many calls as we can. Let's head right back to the phones. Let's go out to Louisiana and Lois. Go right ahead.
Louis: Hey. Hey Rob, you can hear me?
Rob West: Yes, sir. How are you?
Louis: Doing well, Rob. Uh, Rob, I'm sorry. Uh—
Rob West: That's okay.
Louis: Yeah, Rob, I was listening yesterday, and I know y'all in the uh the Preborn campaign, and we've been giving to Preborn back, I think, probably back with Dan Celia.
Rob West: Yes.
Louis: And uh y'all just mentioned about, you know, that the $28 goes totally towards the uh ultrasound machines and stuff. And I was just wondering the administrative costs—in other words, like we give monthly, does that go directly to the the the uh ultrasound machines or do that pay some of the administrative costs? I know like 80 Days of Hope, you know, people like you guys, AFA, and stuff supports them. I'm just wondering, what about Preborn?
Rob West: Yeah, it's a great question. So other supporters who designate their gifts directly for the administrative and fundraising costs cover those other costs. So, if you don't designate it to administration—and typically, they have a group of people that just, you know, in order for them to allow other givers to give directly to uh the cost of the ultrasounds, they have a special group of people that fund those administrative costs, which allows that to happen. So, if you're giving regularly, that's going straight to uh providing the free ultrasounds, unless you've designated it otherwise.
Louis: Good. Good.
Rob West: Yeah.
Louis: Appreciate the information, Rob. I appreciate what y'all do. Uh, I'm 74 years old, I've learned a lot listening to you as often as I can and stuff. Uh, just got Mrs. Betty a credit card in her name, that's something you had brought up about, you know, making sure that your wife has a credit card in her name and not just a user of mine. And then we also do the uh charitable gift distributions out of our—that's something that you taught us, too, and stuff. So, uh, we do really appreciate what you do and everything. And uh we're not a regular monthly giver, but we do we do give to you guys uh at least once or twice a year.
Rob West: That's incredible. Well, Louis, thank you for that. You're obviously listening regularly, you're taking notes, you're applying what you're hearing. [Laughter] I'm grateful. Thanks for sharing that, my friend. Hey, God bless you. By the way, what Louis is talking about is between now and August the 31st, uh we're partnering with Preborn, and every $28 given goes directly to 100% of it uh to fund free ultrasounds for moms considering abortion. In uh partnering with pregnancy centers, when they see their babies, 80% of the time, they choose life. And uh Preborn uh shares the gospel with them. An incredible ministry doing amazing work, and if you'd like to be a part of helping us reach our goal of 1,500 free ultrasounds between now and August the 31st, uh just head to faithfi.com/preborn. All right, uh Walker Wildmon is here. Walker joins us on Fridays to talk about the work AFA is doing in corporate engagement. And uh, Walker, I'm out here in Napa Valley today with Jerry Bowyer. We actually met uh with uh uh some priests and bishops from the Catholic Church uh over the last couple of days, talking about partnering Catholics and Protestants to uh lean into this opportunity for corporate engagement. And everybody is incredibly excited. It seems like there's just really uh a renewed understanding and interest in the opportunity that you and the team at AFA have been uh experiencing here for the last couple of years. It's really amazing, isn't it?
Walker Wildmon: Yeah, it is. And as Jerry mentions repeatedly throughout the months and the weeks that we work on this, the amount of capital that is possessed or owned by Christians, by believers, but is not being utilized for corporate engagement and for the advancement of the gospel and righteousness is is staggering—the billions of dollars that are out there, um, that are just sitting on the sidelines, so to speak. So, um, you know, from an investment standpoint, we we view this corporate engagement as part of your investment strategy, and that's what we've come to adopt here at AFA. And and to put, you know, an analogy in place, you know, the reason people invest their money is because they want to get a return. They don't want it to be stagnant, they don't want it to uh actually lose value through inflation, so they invest it, and they expect a return. And so, we're viewing uh we're viewing corporate uh shareholder engagement through the same lens. Uh, if it's sitting still, nobody's utilizing it, well, it's going to waste. So, we're we're putting our votes uh to use and we're engaging with companies. And Jerry and his team working with Inspire Investing and ADF just recently got a huge victory with Microsoft in that they quit using the SPLC uh in order to research and make decisions, business decisions on uh on various non-profits. And so, that was a big deal, and that wouldn't have happened had Inspire uh not chosen to partner with Jerry and ADF on this corporate engagement.
Rob West: Wow, yeah, incredible. And it seems like we're hearing about those wins all the time. I mean, it's becoming just a new day uh with regard to Christians um advocating for religious values and religious freedom in many cases with these companies. Uh, how are you all setting your agenda as you look out over the next shareholder engagement season? What does that look like to select the companies you're going to engage with?
Walker Wildmon: Yeah, we're looking at at core issues um that are uh prominent issues amongst the general public, meaning that many people statistically care about the issue. And then, of course, we're syncing it up with our core values at AFA to make sure make sure it aligns with our with our core values and our Christian faith. Um, so for example, some of the issues that we're looking at is um, we're actually We've been targeting ESG, this environmental, social, governance agenda, uh, because it's actually unbiblical at its core, the ESG model. It's very unbiblical, it's poor stewardship, it's idolization of the planet as opposed to our Creator and human beings created in His image. And so, there's some very, very, um, wrong things about the ESG movement, and it actually leads to uh mass amounts of human suffering uh through, you know, cutting resources and not utilizing capital properly. Um, so we're we're looking at that. Uh, of course, one of the top issues that has been really our bread and butter is uh protecting children, uh not only from transgender procedures, but also from these harms of the internet and these exploited exploited exploitative uh softwares and websites that are allowing minors to access stuff that they should never be able to see. Um, so that's just two or three uh issues that we're working on, but they're all centered on biblical values, uh protecting families, and ensuring uh that these companies are being responsible uh to the general public and to preserving uh biblical values in our culture.
Rob West: Yeah. Incredible work, Walker. I'll tell you, it's amazing to see how effective this new tool in the tool belt is to uh promote biblical values out there in the marketplace and in our culture, and it's making a real difference. Appreciate the update as always, my friend. Thanks for your time.
Walker Wildmon: Thanks, Rob. Appreciate it, brother.
Rob West: All right. That's Walker Wildmon with the American Family Association. He joins us each Friday in this segment uh to share an update on the team's work in corporate engagement. Let's round out the broadcast today. We have time to uh get to one more call. Let's uh head to Virginia. And, um, Virginia, I understand you have a question about reverse mortgages, go ahead.
PV: Praise the Lord. Thank you for taking my call. This—I wanted to know, I'll be 79 in August, and so I wanted to know what is the advantage and the disadvantage of a reverse mortgage that I'm hearing about, some are negative, some are positive, but I thought I'd ask an expert [Laughter] uh and a brother that would actually know. What are the disadvantages and the advantages of a reverse mortgage?
Rob West: Yeah, I'd be happy to weigh in on that. Um, you said, what did you say your age was?
PV: 79 in Aug- in—
Rob West: Very good. Yeah, it's uh it can be a helpful tool for the right person. I would say it's not a good fit for everyone. The pros are, you get to stay in your home while accessing some of your home's equity, and there's no required monthly mortgage payment. So, you still pay the property taxes, the homeowner's insurance, you have to maintain the home, but the mortgage payment itself is optional, and it's a way to tap into that equity, and of course, because it's your equity, there's—it's tax-free, um, because it's loan proceeds, it's not income. Most people take it as a line of credit uh so they can access it if they need to improve the home, if they wanted to take a, you know, spend money beyond their monthly expenses, maybe take a trip every couple of years, something like that. But in that season of life, if you're kind of living on Social Security alone, you haven't saved enough for retirement, it's a way that uh some folks will just tap into that home equity and be able to use that without um you, you know, in any way having any kind of repercussions, because um, you know, once you pass away or sell that home, then the home would be sold, the proceeds would be paid off, and anything that remains in terms of equity uh would be available for your heirs. Maybe the only downside is the upfront upfront cost and fees, a little higher than a traditional mortgage, but I would say for the right person, it can make a lot of sense. Uh PV, if you want to hang on the line, our team will get your information, and we can get you in touch with somebody who can give you a lot more information. I'll also send you a copy of Harlan Accola's book called Home Equity in Reverse Mortgages, and perhaps that'll be helpful, you can do some reading on the topic. That'll be our gift to you. Thanks for calling today. Folks, that's going to do it for us. Big thanks to my team today: Devin, Patty, Jim, and everybody here at FaithFi making this possible. Again, if you want to support the ministry, just head to faithfi.com/give. Become a partner today when you give $35 a month or $400 a year. It's a great way to support this listener-supported ministry. Hope you'll come back and join us next week, we'll do it all over again. Until then, may God bless you. Bye-bye.
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College students may be pros at pulling off last-minute study sessions, but when it comes to finances, cramming just doesn’t cut it. We often say that everyone needs a budget, and for college students, that might be even more crucial. On this Faith & Finance on AFR, Rob West and Dr. Kelly Rush share practical budgeting advice every college student should hear. Then, it’s on to financial questions.
(00:00) Rob West & Dr. Kelly Rush discuss budgeting for college students
(08:30) Rob West & Dr. Kelly Rush continue their discussion on budgeting for college students
(20:30) In the News: Recent BankRate study showed that most homeowners did not get the best interest rate offered when financing their home
(23:03) Caller Russ: What is the best credit card for a college student and what is the best way for a college student to build their credit
(31:42) Caller Jefferson: Owes the bank more than his car is worth, how can he get rid of the car
(35:20) Caller Ruby: Currently renting a house but will need to move shortly, how can she decide if she should buy a house or find a new rental
(42:10) Support Faith & Finance by becoming a monthly support partner
(43:16) Caller Louis: FaithFi is partnering with PreBorn and it’s stated that 100% of donation goes to ultrasounds, how does PreBorn pay for administrative costs
(46:06) Walker Wildmon, Vice President for American Family Association joins Rob West to discuss corporate engagement
(51:01) Caller PV: Inquiring about the positive and negative aspects of a reverse mortgage
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